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Topic: How do I know if queen accepted??? (Read 6350 times)

I posted this in another topic, but time is running out and I need answers.I need help on this one please!!

This is a modification:: Forgot to mention the hive is queenless for a while (I think) could have laying workers. No brood anywhere. I introduced a frame of different sizes of larvae (I never could see eggs)a few weeks ago in the hopes there was an egg on that frame they could use. They did not make a queen. Just introduced this queen in a plastic cage hanging between 2 frames. This is not a push in cage.

OK I am not totally sure if they have accepted her or not. I checked really quickly on Thursday, 2 days after I placed her in the hive. I should have waited the full amount of time,(meaning MB said I should wait 4 days) but curiousity overcame me.

So I saw the bees running around on her cage and I assumed they did not like her because I thought if they did accept her they would be just slowly moving around her. I do not want to assume wrong and end up removing her if indeed they have accepted her.

Any sure way to tell if they have accepted her other than opening the cage and taking a chance???

If its possible you have another queen(if you got a package not likely, more likely w/ nuc) look for eggs in other areas of hive. If this is a package, just relax, spray them w/ some sugar syrup, if you got it add Honey -b healthy , make sure candy is soft and wait another day. Or just release her. They aren't stinging her are they? Mostly, relax.

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If its possible you have another queen(if you got a package not likely, more likely w/ nuc) look for eggs in other areas of hive. If this is a package, just relax, spray them w/ some sugar syrup, if you got it add Honey -b healthy , make sure candy is soft and wait another day. Or just release her. They aren't stinging her are they? Mostly, relax.

Would I actually be able to see them trying to sting her?? You mean I would see them bending down their backsides in that position when they want to sting??? These bees are just moving around rather quickly on the cage stopping every once in a while to look at her. I don't know what is happening.

could you take her and make a nuc if they don't accept her in a couple of days? that way you'd save her and have extra brood for that hive if you find out they need it. if nothing else, you'd have a new hive in case you can't fix that one.

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could you take her and make a nuc if they don't accept her in a couple of days? that way you'd save her and have extra brood for that hive if you find out they need it. if nothing else, you'd have a new hive in case you can't fix that one.

KathyP

This was something I considered at first, but I will try a few days more with a push in cage to see if they accept her. Thanks for the suggestion.

She is in a plastic cage not the wire cage. This is one problem I am having. With the plastic cage I cannot figure out if they are biting or not. Anyway, I will try the push in, hopefully I can do this.

Annette, I think I have seen the other post, sounds like you are doing all you can at the moment. Is this the hive that had multiple eggs in cells? So no eggs, brood of any kind for how long? Or only drone brood? How are the numbers in this colony, how many bees, guess?

Please respond quickly if possible. I already have my queen in the plastic cage hanging between 2 frames with a couple of attendants. She was placed in there on Tuesday. Because it doesn't look like she is being accepted yet, I have not opened up the cover on the candy end as I do not want her to be killed. I want to transfer her to the push in wire cage which I made last night according to MB website plans.

My problem is how do I get her out of the plastic cage quickly since this cage she is in has a candy plug that hasn't been eaten yet because I kept the cover on. I left the cover on because it doesn't look like they are accepting her and I do not want her killed. If I poke a hole through the candy I still doubt that I can just shake her out of the cage. I do not think there will be enough room for her to get out quickly. MB suggested I place her in the push in cage and there might be a better chance of her being accepted if she has emerging brood with her.

I know how to open the cage. Just did not do this because they were not accepting her.

This is not the problem. The problem is once I open this end, I am met by a candy plug and now I need to get her out of the cage really quickly because I am going to dump her into the wire push in cage I made. She will not fall out because of this candy plug still in the end of the cage.

If I just poke a hole in the candy, I do not think she will just fall out due to the stickyness of the candy plug, and perhaps because I will not be able to get all the candy out of the way.

I know how to open the cage. Just did not do this because they were not accepting her.

This is not the problem. The problem is once I open this end, I am met by a candy plug and now I need to get her out of the cage really quickly because I am going to dump her into the wire push in cage I made. She will not fall out because of this candy plug still in the end of the cage.

If I just poke a hole in the candy, I do not think she will just fall out due to the stickyness of the candy plug, and perhaps because I will not be able to get all the candy out of the way.

Does this make sense.

ThanksAnnette

If you grab the plug end while holding the body you should be able to open the cage up at the hinge. The candy only plugs off one end of the cage. When you open it up the queen will run down towards your open hand, hope this makes sense. The backside of the plug is open.

This hive has not had many foragers, but when I open the hive the numbers look great. This hive has perplexed me to no end. They hardly ate from the honey frames I placed in there. The bees look otherwise healthy. This hive lost their queen last November and superceded her. Now I am having this trouble again with them.

This is why I decided to introduce a mated queen from Randy Oliver in Grass Valley.(one point worth mentioning here, is Randy Oliver did not have a queen yet for this year. He sold me a queen from last year. He just removed her from a very strong and gentle hive while I was there)

Perhaps I am to late. I do not see eggs or brood anywhere. I will check again next week when it warms up and if all else fails, keep introducing frames with eggs from my other strong hive. I did this once already, but as I mentioned somewhere, I have trouble seeing those darn small eggs. I finally bought a magnifying glass last week, but when I went to use it I noticed I still cannot see very well unless the frames are in the sun. Well, you know magnifying glasses and sun do not go together. I could fry the eggs before I find them.

I just spoke to JP in ventro and now I understand how this darn plastic cage works. Apparently there is an additional hinge below the candy plug line which I open up. I did not notice this at the time, but now I know what to do to get the queen out.